Diana and Actaeon (1556–9)
Jointly owned by the National Gallery and National Galleries of Scotland
Diana, chaste goddess of hunting, is disturbed, while bathing with her nymphs, by the hunter Actaeon. He recoils. His arms raised almost as if to protect himself.
The telling reaction on the nymphs' faces and Diana's condemnatory glare indicate that he has - unwittingly - infuriated her. The consequence is fatal. Titian hints at Actaeon's punishment by including a stag being chased by Diana on the skyline. Diana transforms Actaeon into a stag which is savaged by his own hounds.
Was live on 20 January 2020 at 6.15pm (GMT)
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Diana and Callisto (1556–9)
Jointly owned by the National Gallery and the National Galleries of Scotland
Here again, Titian retells in paint the story of someone incurring the wrath of Diana. The distraught nymph and hunting companion, Callisto, implores Diana as she is roughly stripped to reveal her belly.
Having vowed not to marry, she was raped by Jupiter. Her pregnancy, although unwanted, has tipped Diana over the edge. Jupiter's wife Juno, furious with her unfaithful husband, turns Callisto into a bear.
Diana goes on to kill Callisto (now a bear), not realising that the nymph has taken animal form. Jupiter immortalises Callisto by transforming her into the constellation Ursa Major (the Great Bear).
Was live on 20 January 2020 at 6.15pm (GMT)
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Venus and Adonis (1554)
The Prado, Madrid
Titian paints Venus, her mind filled with foreboding, clutching for her lover, the beautiful hunter Adonis, in attempt to stop him from going hunting. However, his fate is sealed. He does not return; gored to death by a wild boar.
Was live on 21 January 2020 at 9.30am (CET) / 8.30am (GMT)
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Danaë (probably 1554–6)
Wellington Collection at Apsley House, London
One of the first of the cycle, Danaë tells the story of the daughter of King Acrisius of Argos. She was shut up in a tower by her father as a means of preventing her ever having a son.
The heirless king had been told by the Oracle that he would have a successor and that this child would be his daughter's son. Good news only in part, as he was also told that this grandson would kill him.
Meanwhile Jupiter, an admirer of Danaë and immune to any barrier, reaches her via a skylight in the form of a shower of gold. She has their child, Perseus, the hero of another of the 'poesie'.
Was live on 22 January 2020 at 1pm (GMT)
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Rape of Europa (1560–2)
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Jupiter, captivated by Europa, transforms himself into a beautiful bull to disguise himself among the herd of cows around her.
Europa approaches the bull and finding it tame, winds flowers around its horns and jumps onto its back. The bull (aka Jupiter) leaps into the sea and carries her off. Europa clings on in terror, a flailing arm waving desperately at her companions on the shore.
Was live on 23 January 2020 at 10am (EST) / 3pm (GMT)
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Perseus and Andromeda (probably 1554–6)
The Wallace Collection, London
Andromeda was the beautiful daughter of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia offended the Nereids, the sea nymphs, by claiming that Andromeda was more beautiful than they.
In revenge, Neptune, god of the sea, sent a sea monster to devastate Cepheus’s kingdom. Andromeda is chained to the rocks to be devoured by the monster, when the hero Perseus flies by and falls in love with her.
Perseus then swoops down to rescue her, his powerful vertiginous descent contrasting vividly with her passive vulnerability. He slays the monster and later marries Andromeda.
Was live on 24 January 2020 at 5pm (GMT)
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